METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING PACKAGE BLANKS ERECTED IN AN ERECTING MACHINE

Abstract: The invention relates to a method and an arrangement for feeding packaging blanks (1) erected in an erecting machine from an ejection position (2) under a form chamber (3) in the machine, where an erecting plunger (4) inside the erected blank relinquishes it for transfer to an underlying delivery conveyor (5) for further horizontal conveyance to a filling and sealing station. Substantially simultaneously as it is relinquished, the erected blank (1) is captured by a vacuum conveyor (8), known per se, which includes at least one vertically moving belt (9). One side wall (6), and possibly a lid (7) attached in an upstanding attitude to the wall of the erected blank are urged against the belt for controlled movement downwards until the bottom (11) of the erected blank comes into contact with the upper surface (12) of the delivery conveyor (5) substantially simultaneously as the erected blank is automatically released from the vacuum conveyor (8) for further horizontal conveyance by the delivery conveyor to a filling and sealing station.

Description: METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING PACKAGE BLANKS ERECTED IN AN ERECTING MACHINE The present invention relates to a method and arrangement for feeding packaging blanks erected in an erecting machine from the erection position under a form chamber in the erecting machine, where an erecting plunger inside the erected blank relinquishes the blank to an underlying delivery conveyor for further horizontal conveyance to a filling and sealing sta¬ tion, and where the erected blank may have a lid hingedly attached to its rear side wall, this lid being in an upright, vertical attitude as the erected blank is fed downwards to the delivery conveyor, the lid being in the same plane as the rear side wall. In the erecting machines at present on the market there is a considerable problem with the mechanisms transferring the ready-erected blanks from the form chamber down to a convey¬ ing means for taking them to a filling and sealing station. For example, the transferring mechanisms at present comprise separate suction cup means, which grip the erected blank and guide it downwards from the chamber to the conveying means. When blank erecting machines come up to such high capacities as 100 blanks per minute there is the problem that the suc¬ tion cups can lose their grip, resulting in operational disturbances. Also in the case where the erected blanks are allowed to fall freely onto the conveying means, when erect- ing machines have such high erection rates, it happens that the erected blanks catch in each other, or do not sit square¬ ly on the delivery conveyor, thus causing operational stopp¬ ages. Several drawbacks, such as high costs, arise in such cases. The object of the present invention is to obviate the dis¬ advantages of the already known arrangements and apparatus of the kind mentioned, and to provide a method and arrangement with apparatus for conveying the ready-erected packaging blanks from the form chamber in an erecting machine and down to a conveyor which will deliver them to a filling and seal¬ ing station without unnecessary operational breakdowns, even for very high machine speeds, while the arrangement and apparatus for carrying out the method is simple and reliable in the construction and disposition of its parts. The dis¬ tinguishing features of the invention are disclosed in the accompanying claims. By reason of the present invention there has now been achieved a method and arrangement with apparatus for feeding blanks erected in an erecting machine to a filling and seal¬ ing station, and where such blanks may have upstanding lids hingedly attached to their rear side walls. With the aid of the apparatus in accordance with the invention there is now achieved controlled movement of the erected blanks, thus enabling the erecting machine to operate at very high erect¬ ion speeds of over 100 blanks per minute, without the occur- ence of operational disturbances. Due to simplicity in con- struction, signifying that few moving parts are required for actual feeding, the advantage may also be mentioned that the downward movement of the blanks can take place at the rate required to suit the pitch of the flights of the feed con¬ veyor intended to take the erected blanks sideways from the erecting machine for further operations such as filling and sealing. Great flexibility in setting up formats, as well as reliability of operation are afforded by the inventive method arrangement. The invention will now be described in more detail, with the aid of a preferred embodiment and with reference to the accom¬ panying drawing, where a schematic, perspective view (Fig. 1) and partial side view (Fig. 2) illustrate an arrangement and apparatus for carrying out the method in accordance with the invention. As will be seen from the drawing, the object of the arrange¬ ment and apparatus, according to a preferred embodiment, is to feed ready-erected blanks 1 from their ejection position 2 under a form chamber 3 in an erecting machine. In this posi¬ tion there is an erecting plunger 4 inside the erected blank 1, and when the latter is relinquished by the plunger 4 it is transferred to an underlying delivery conveyor 5 for horizon- tal conveyance of the erected blank 1 to an unillustrated filling and sealing station. In the illustrated example, there is a lid 7 hingedly attached to the rear side wall 6 of the erected blank 1. During this downward transfer the lid 7 has an upstanding, vertical attitude, with its plane of extension coinciding with the rear side wall 6. Transfer of the erected blank 1 from the form chamber 3 to the feed conveyor 5 takes place with the aid of a vertically disposed vacuum conveyor 8, which includes at least one vertically moving belt 9, the rear side wall 6 attached with upstanding lid 7 of the erected blank being urged against the belt 9 with the aid of vacuum from a vacuum box 10 included in the conveyor 8. The belt 9 is implemented, inter alia, with large friction at its conveying surface, and is intended to provide controlled feed of the erected blank downwards from the form chamber 3 until the bottom 11 of the erected blank comes into contact with the upper surface 12 of the delivery conveyor 5. Substantially simultaneously with this contact the side wall 6 and attached lid 7 are automatically released from the belt 9 with the aid of cunieform means 20 on either side of the belt. The delivery conveyor 5 is pro¬ vided with consecutive flights 13, which bear against one of the side walls 14 of the erected blank 1 for moving it in a horizontal direction. To prevent the erected blanks 1 from bouncing, or otherwise behaving in an unquiet fashion, when they land on the conveyor 5, the latter may include a vacuum box 21 with holes 22 in the upper surface 12 (see Fig. 2) , suction then keeping the erected blanks down on this surface. As mentioned, the vacuum conveyor 8 is disposed with its extension in a vertical direction, its upper portion 15 in juxtaposition with the lower part of the form chamber 3, and its lower portion 16 in juxtaposition with the upper surface 12 of the conveyor 5. According to a preferred embodiment example, the conveyor 8 includes a vacuum box 10. At least one timing drive type of endless belt 9 has its part facing towards the erected blank extending over and along the box, which has a slit coacting with holes 17 at given spacing in the belt 9 for providing the suction urging the side wall and lid of the erected blank against the belt. The slit in the vacuum box is not illustrated on the drawing. This box 10 may be provided with at least one longitudinal recess for an end¬ less belt 9, and if more than one belt is used, suction holes and/or slits can be arranged in the box 10 between the belts. Both the timing drive type of belt 9 and other types of belt are taken over end pulleys 18 and 19 outside the vacuum box 10 at the respective end portions 15 och 16 of the box 10. The invention method of feeding erected blanks from the form chamber 3 in the erecting machine is as follows. As soon as the plunger 4 that erected the blank in the chamber 3 has relinquished it, its rear side wall 6 and attached lid 7 are sucked against the belt 9 of the vacuum conveyor 8. The erected blank 1 then moves downwards in a controlled manner until its bottom 11 comes into contact with the upper surface 12 of the delivery conveyor 5, when the erected blank is automatically released from the vacuum conveyor 8. The auto¬ matic release is enabled either by the effect of the vacuum retaining the erected blank being less than the lateral dis¬ placement force exercised by the delivery conveyor 5, or with the aid of cunieform members 20 disposed on either side of the belt 9 at the lower portion 16 of the conveyor 8. After its release from the conveyor 8 the erected blank 1 is fed to a filling and sealing station, not illustrated on the draw¬ ing, by the flights 13 of the conveyor 5 in combination with sucking the bottom 11 of the erected blank 1 against the upper surface 12 of this conveyor, or solely by suction grip on the bottoms of the erected blanks.

Claims: AMENDED CLAIMS [received by the International Bureau on 9 June 1994 (09.06.94); original claims 1 and 2 replaced by amended claim 1; claims 3-10 renumbered as claims 2-9 (3 pages)] 1. Method of feeding packaging blanks erected in an erecting machine from an ejection position (2) under a form chamber (3) in such a machine, and where an erecting plunger (4) inside the erected blank (1) relinquishes the erected blank for transfer of the latter to an underlying delivery conveyor (5) for further horizontal conveyance of the erected blanks (1) to a filling and sealing station, and where each of the blanks (1) can have a lid (7) hingedly attached to its rear side wall (6) , this lid being in an upstanding, vertical attitude and in the same plane as said wall (6) during trans- fer of the erected blanks downwards to the delivery conveyor (5), c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that the erected blanks (1) are captured by a vacuum conveyor (8) , known per se, substantially simultaneously as they are ejected, this con¬ veyor including at least one moving belt (9) , against which the outside faces of the rear side wall (6) and an optional upstanding lid (7) hingedly attached to the wall (6) are urged, with the aid of vacuum from a vacuum box (10) included in the conveyor (8) , while the belt feeds the erected blanks downwards in a controlled manner until the bottom (11) of the erected blank (1) comes into contact with the upper surface (12) of the conveyor (5) , whereby in connection with contact between erected blank (1) and upper surface (12) of the delivery conveyor (5) , the respective erected blank (l) is released from its engagement against the belt (9) of the vacuum conveyor (8) , and is further fed sideways and horizon¬ tally on the delivery conveyor (5) to the filling and sealing station. 2. Method as claimed in claim 1, c h a r a c t e - r i z e d i n that flights (13) spaced along the moving means of the conveyor (5) engage against one of the side walls (14) of the erected blank (1) for moving it in a hori¬ zontal direction. 3. Method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that simultaneously with the contact between delivery conveyor (5) and erected blank (1) the bottom (11) of the latter is subjected to a suction force urging it against the conveyor (5) , such as to avoid bouncing or other unquiet behaviour of the erected blank (1) . 4. Method as claimed in claim 1, c h a r a c t e - r i z e d i n that suction force in the vacuum conveyor (8) comes from a vacuum box (10) provided with holes, the belt or belts (9) moving in one or more vertical glide recesses in said box. 5. Method as claimed in claim 1, c h a r a c t e ¬ r i z e d i n that at least one timing drive type of belt (9) is provided with consecutive holes (17) , said belt moving over upper (18) end pulleys, and in that the holes (17) register with a longitudinal slit in the vacuum box (10) . 6. Apparatus for carrying out the method according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n that a vacuum con¬ veyor (8) , known per se, is disposed vertically with its upper portion (15) juxtaposed the lower part of the form chamber (3) and with its lower portion (16) juxtaposed the upper surface (12) of the delivery conveyor (5) , which con¬ veys the erected blanks (1) from the vacuum conveyor (8) , by this arrangement there being achieved a controlled feed of erected blanks in a direction from the form chamber (3) and down to the delivery conveyor (5) , which takes them to a filling and sealing station. 7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6, c h a r a c t e ¬ r i z e d i n that the vacuum conveyor (8) includes a vacuum box (10) , over and along which extends one part of a timing drive type of belt (9) , which has a plurality of holes (17) consecutively arranged at given spacing for obtaining suction via a slit in the vacuum box (10) , such as to enable the belt (9) to capture the erected blanks (1) . 8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6, c h a r a c t e ¬ r i z e d i n that the delivery conveyor (5) includes a box (21) with holes (22) adapted for sucking the bottom (11) of the erected blank (1) against the upper surface (12) of said conveyor and, in appropriate cases, flights (13) arranged upstanding at given spacing on the moving means of said conveyor such as to project above its upper surface (12) . 9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6, c h a r a c t e - r i z e d i n that the lower portion (16) of the vacuum conveyor (8) has at least one cunieform means (20) for dis¬ rupting the suction force on the downwardly fed, erected blank (1) before it is moved sideways by the delivery con¬ veyor (5) .

Inventors: WALLIN KAY, WALLIN, KAY
Applicants: SPRINTER SYSTEM AB, WALLIN KAY, WALLIN, KAY
Application year: 1994
Main classification: B65B43
IPC codes: B31B1, B65B43